Javid: government must give police more resources to tackle knife crime

Sajid Javid has said the government must listen to police chiefs’ demand for more resources after they asked the home secretary for emergency cash to fund an immediate rise in the number of officers in England to tackle knife crime.Javid met chief constables from seven of the areas worst affected by knife crime on Wednesday to discuss solutions to the problem, which has been described as a national emergency.No immediate money from government was forthcoming but chiefs will prepare a bid for how much money they need to fund the extra resource, which would be met by existing officers working overtime.Javid is believed to have clashed with the chancellor and the prime minister over his demands for more cash at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting but, speaking after Wednesday’s talks, he maintained his belief that it is an essential component of the government’s response to the crisis.“I think police resources are very important to deal with this,” he said. “We’ve got to do everything we can. I’m absolutely committed to working with the police in doing this. We have to listen to them when they talk about resources.”The prime minister claimed on Monday there was “no direct correlation” between rising crime and police cuts but backtracked after colleagues failed to back her up, and the Metropolitan police chief, Cressida Dick, joined other senior officers in asserting that there is a link. READ MORE

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